Medicaments can be dispensed in a wide variety of vehicles and forms, including powders, capsules, liquids, aerosols, and the like. Medicaments for dermatological use can be provided in liquid or solid form. More typically, dermatological formulations are provided in semisolid form as lotions, creams, ointments, pastes, liquids, plasters, and poultices.
Microencapsulated preparations have been described as useful for a variety of purposes, including for the delivery of dentifrice compositions and pharmaceuticals. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,526,682, 4,711,783, 4,766,012, 4,980,154, 5,000,886, and 5,066,436. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,604 describes an aqueous emulsion system containing vesicular structures as a delivery system for a variety of active ingredients.
The cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries typically prepare dermatological formulations in ready-to-use form. In other words, it is common to tailor-make an ointment or other vehicle for use with a particular type and amount of a medicament, combine the two, then package and sell the resulting formulation.
It would often be desirable, however, to allow pharmacists or end-users of medicated ointments to prepare their own formulations, using ready-made or previously prepared ointment bases or concentrates. This generally requires, however, that a user have access to the materials and methods, as well as instructions, that would allow him or her to prepare an effective formulation on a medicament-by-medicament basis.
There presently appear to be few, if any, commercially available medicament bases that can be prepared in advance and used with a wide variety of solutions and medicaments, particularly in a manner that can accommodate a wide range of added volumes and types of medicaments.